Historical Virginia fracking information, 1931-2015
 in Virginia |
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This page contains historical information about fracking in Virginia. For more current information about fracking in Virginia, see this article.
As of 2014, detailed information about the extent to which fracking was used in Virginia was limited. The information below describes fracking and oil and gas production in Virginia generally.
Fracking background
- See also: Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction. The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean rock formation at a high pressure, creating a fracture network that allows the crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The fluid used in this process is made up of sand and water, which comprise 95 percent of the fluid, and other chemical additives, which comprise less than 5 percent of the fluid.[1]
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there were approximately 23,000 hydraulically fractured wells in the United States in 2000. By 2015, there were an estimated 300,000 hydraulically fractured wells. To learn more about fracking, see this article.[2][3]
History
According to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey, the first exploratory oil and gas wells were drilled in southwestern Virginia in the 1890s. Commercial production of natural gas did not begin until 1931. Fracking first occurred in Virginia in the early to mid-1950s.[4][5]
Production
From 2000 to 2013, 1,118 permits were issued for gas wells, 170 permits were issued for horizontal gas wells, and 25 permits were issued for oil wells. The graphs below detail oil and natural gas production in Virginia from 1981 to 2013.[6][7][8]
Fracking in the 50 states
Click on a state below to read more about energy in that state.
See also
External links
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Virginia Profile"
- Frac Focus, "National Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Registry"
Footnotes
- ↑ Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑ University of Oklahoma, "Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Hydraulic fracturing accounts for about half of current U.S. crude oil production," March 15, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedVAfracking - ↑ United States Geological Service, "Oil and Gas Wells Drilled in Southwestern Virginia Before 1950," accessed July 18, 2014
- ↑ Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, "Permit Issuance," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Crude Oil Production," July 30, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production," July 31, 2014
